We admit it: we were some of the people utterly pooh-poohing the notion that Pennsylvania would be at all relevant in the presidential primaries, much less the hotbed of Democratic campaigning it’s turned into over the last few weeks. We were really just used to not mattering. But lo! What light through yonder voting-machine-curtain breaks? ‘Tis Chelsea Clinton, and Obama starting some shit that’s all the rage on the news channels. Guess we matter after all. You like us, DNC, you really like us!

Ahem. Anyway. What this means is if you are Democrat-leaning and want to partake in the gory spectacle that will be the primary on April 22, but are not yet a registered voter, you need to get a move on. The deadline to have your voice heard is Monday; after that you’ll just be able to vote in boring things like municipal elections and, oh yeah, for the next leader of the free world. There will be a voter registration drive at the Central Branch of the Free Library on Saturday from 10AM to 5PM. On Wednesday, Russell Simmons announced the "Hip-Hop Team Vote: Turn Up the Vote" campaign, which is seeking to register 15,000-20,000 new voters before Monday's deadlines; look for PSAs from Will Smith, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Wyclef Jean and others. Turn Up the Vote will also be set up around local college campuses, so if you’re a student the process will be easy. If you can’t make it Saturday (and don’t want to sneak onto a campus), never fear: just fill out the paperwork and take it to your designated county office, or mail it in—as long as it’s postmarked by Monday. Otherwise you’ll have nothing to do on primary day than sit around and drink. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Image Credit: Flickr user ShutterCat7